Charge: Reporter Helen Croydon outside Bodyshop where she was charged 5p for a paper bag

The Body Shop is charging customers for paper bags even though the carriers are exempt from the government's 5p levy, MailOnline can reveal.

The charge on plastic bags was introduced last October in a bid to tackle litter and waste, while raising millions of pounds for good causes.

Ministers controversially decided that the new law should not apply to paper bags handed out in England - although this is different to the rest of the UK.

Yet The Body Shop has decided to apply the levy on a voluntary basis, claiming that the extra charge encourages customers to opt for reusable bags.

However some branches of the high street chain add the 5p without consulting the customer.

A reporter visited four Body Shop stores on Oxford Street and Regent Street in central London.

In half of the shops an extra 5p was automatically added to total cost at the till and the products were handed over in a paper bag. In the other two stores the reporter asked for a bag and was given one but not charged.

Hidden cost: The Body Shop has decided to apply the levy on a voluntary basis, claiming that the extra charge encourages customers to opt for reusable bags. Above, a store in Bristol

Controversy: Ministers decided that the new law should not apply to paper bags handed out in England - although this is different to the rest of the UK

HOW 5P CHARGE HELPS CUT PLASTIC BAG USE BY 85%

More than seven billion single-use plastic bags were handed out by the main retailers in 2014.

But in the six months that followed the introduction of the charge in England in October, that figure dropped to just half a billion.

That means six billion fewer bags will be taken home by shoppers over the course of the first year.

The figures show the charge has cut use of the environmentally-damaging bags by around 85 per cent.

Nine other high street chains, including Primark, Bershka, Zara, Topshop and Starbucks, which all offer paper bags, did not add a charge, the reporter found.

The levy was introduced across England in October 2015.

Proof: The Body Shop receipt shows the charge for the 5p bag

The Government decided that retailers in England – unlike in the rest of the UK – do not need to charge for paper bags. Businesses employing fewer than 250 staff – such as corner shops – were also exempt from the plastic bag levy.

Yet many independent outlets have decided to apply the levy on a voluntary basis.

They also have no legal obligation to keep records of how much is raised or who gets the money.

A spokesman for The Body Shop said the 5p charge was designed 'to encourage customers to use reusable charge'.

The first official Government figures published in July show the charge has cut the use of plastic bags by around 85 per cent - or six billion bags.

The 5p charge has also resulted in donations of more than £29million from retailers towards good causes, including charities and community groups.

A spokesman for the Body Shop said: 'At The Body Shop we have always been committed to reducing our impact on the environment by reducing the energy we consume and generating less waste.

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'Even though our retail paper bags are biodegradable and FSC certified we wanted to further reduce the environmental impact they cause, and so last October we introduced a 5p charge to encourage customers to use reusable bags.

'This is just one of our initiatives to protect and cherish our planet; through our close relationship with The Body Shop Foundation, which is an independent charity, we have also been able to help fund many global projects that work for both social and environmental change.'

PLASTIC BAG LEVY: WHEN SHOULD YOU BE CHARGED?

Certain retailers, bags and purchases are exempt from the 5p levy:

Businesses employing fewer than 250 staff – such as corner shops – are exempt. Ministers said they did not want to land them with an administrative burden.

This rule has added complexity: for example, some Spar, Budgens, Costcutter and Subway outlets run by small franchisees with only a few staff are not required to charge, but others with the same name over the door must.

Shops in airports, on board trains, aeroplanes or ships are also allowed to give out plastic bags for free.

Certain retailers, bags and purchases are exempt from the 5p levy

Customers buying certain products, such as unwrapped food, prescription medicines, bulbs and flowers or live fish are to be given plastic bags free of charge, the rules state.

Retailers are also not required to charge for bags made from woven plastic or 'bags for life'.

Businesses can still charge for 'bags for life' but they do not to record sales and proceeds as they do with single-use carrier bags.

Retailers must also charge for click-and-collect orders and similar services.

There is nothing in the law that prevents retailers from charging for bags, even where there is an exemption.